Waiting for Tonight
by Kaslyna
Summary: What happens when Casey and Alex are thrown together for a case? Rated 'T' for now.


**A/N: This idea came to me while listening to Jennifer Lopez's "Waiting for Tonight", hence the title. And it also fits. This is for alexandcasey. (: Set after Casey leaves. While Alex is there. **

**Disclaimer: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit belongs to Dick Wolf and NBC; I own nothing but the plot.**

It landed on Casey's desk on Thursday morning, early. All right, no problem, she told herself. It was just your average trust-fund baby who had gotten greedy. It wasn't until Mr. Trust-fund was suspected in the rape and murders of thirteen women, aged between twenty-two and twenty-nine, that Casey began to worry. She prayed and prayed but come that following Monday someone knocked at her door. And there stood Alex Cabot.

"Hey," Alex said, aloof, "Guess we'll be working together on this."

"Guess so," Casey agreed, trying to remain nonchalant. Jack McCoy had assigned Alex first chair and Casey second; the majority of the crimes were rapes, and besides, Casey _was _the younger one, at thirty-three (and a half, thank you very much) to Alex's thirty-eight.

"So... what have you got on Zachary Blaine?" asks Alex, her icy blue eyes skimming over the surface of Casey's desk.

She shrugs then responds, "Not much. Money-laundering, really. Loan-sharking here and there."

"So it's possible it's how he met the victims," Alex murmurs.

"Yeah, probably," she sighs, "He's an accountant, married to Patricia Marsh, and hell, his parents were pretty damn wealthy themselves. Why's he need more?"

"I never really understood it," Alex says, "I mean, yeah, my parents were well-off, but they _earned_ it. And most of my friends just didn't understand really how lucky they were. It was always take, take, take with them."

Casey smiles a little on the inside, elated that she has gotten Alex to open up.

"Well, my dad was an Irishman and my mom was a hippie/poet from Los Angeles, both extremely Catholic and laid-back, so I wouldn't know," Casey joked.

Alex chuckles humorlessly and Casey grins.

"Who were his victims?" Casey asks.

"Um, well, they were all twenty-two through twenty-nine, from average families, wanting more, essentially," Alex says.

"Okay," Casey nods, "Well, from what little information I've gathered, sounds like his type."

"Yup," Alex nods.

They work in silence. Around seven in the evening Casey suggests they clean up and grab a bite to eat. Alex agrees, helping Casey reorganize the office and throw out the rotting takeout from lunch.

They end up at a little Italian place nearby. They order cappuccinos and a plate of spaghetti pomodoro for Casey and penne ala vodka for Alex. The case is discussed as they eat. They share a slice of oversized tiramisu and split the bill.

They share a cab and go into Casey's apartment. She immediately apologizes for the mess. It's been a long time since she's had company, she admits. Since Serena broke things off with her last summer, but she doesn't say that. Instead she tells Alex to get comfortable; she'll get some wine and they'll talk about the case. Alex agrees and sits while Casey pours two glasses of wine. She passes one to Alex and smiles briefly, and then they talk. After two glasses of wine Casey makes them coffee. It is not until around three in the morning that Alex finally leaves, admitting that she had a great time and that maybe they should do this again. Casey laughs but agrees.

She goes to bed, buzzing from wine and coffee and the sheer satisfaction that she is winning over Alexandra Cabot, lesbian ice queen extraordinaire, previous girlfriend of Olivia Benson, Casey's best friend.

* * *

Casey eats a breakfast of cinnamon French toast and coffee, popping two aspirin. Then she showers, changes into a cranberry-colored sweater, black slacks, and black heels, applies a little makeup, and pulls her hair back into a bun, a few stray wisps of red-gold hair escaping. She puts in little hoop earrings (gold, a gift from her older brother, Tim) and grabs her purse, coat, and keys before she leaves. She is at One Hogan Place at ten, and Alex is in Casey's office. She smiles, and Alex smiles back.

Alex is wearing her hair in a bun as well, with two chopsticks sticking out. She has on bright red lipstick and is wearing a sky-blue sweater dress that reaches her knees, with a slit partway up the thigh.

Their day is slow, uneventful; conversation is brief, minimal, and about the case. Casey is more than a little disappointed and surprisingly, so is Alex, though she does not dare to show it.

Tonight they find themselves at a Chinese noodle shop ten blocks away that Casey loves. They once more head to Casey's place, finding themselves up into the wee hours talking and laughing.

Alex looks at Casey, truly looks at her.

And what she sees makes her smile.

* * *

"Got another date with Alex?" teases Olivia as Casey comes into the 16th precinct the next morning. She blushes furiously and Olivia grins.

"Uhm..."

"She told me," Olivia explains, shrugging casually, "We're still friends."

Casey nods, saying, "Oh." Like that explains everything, when secretly Casey is all but bursting with joy that Alex said they were dating to Olivia.

* * *

This routine remains intact for another nine days. The cycle is broken on the tenth day by Alex kissing Casey in the middle of the 16th.

She is shocked at first but grins, deepening the kiss. She had asked Liz Donnelly where Alex was; she said at the 16th, and when Casey got there, Alex pulled her into a hug and kissed her in front of everyone.

"I want you to be my girlfriend," Alex admits somewhat shyly after dinner.

Casey agrees, no questions asked.


End file.
